Flamengo will begin the second phase of construction on the President George Helal Training Center, known as Ninho do Urubu, in Vargem Grande, in July. This new phase of the project is scheduled to open in November 2018.
The new modules will be occupied by athletes and the coaching staff of Professional Football, while the modules opened in December 2016, and currently used by Flamengo's main team, will now be used by youth football.
"Since we completed construction on the professional football modules in December of last year, we began studying and detailing the second phase of the project in greater depth, which would initially focus on the youth teams. We studied and visited the best training centers, spoke with all the professionals involved, learned from the mistakes and successes of the first phase, and concluded that the current structure would serve the youth academy exceptionally well, unlike anything else in Brazil. We also concluded that, in the new project, striving for excellence, we could offer an even better structure for professional football, incorporating a few additional features that weren't possible in this first phase," says Alexandre Wrobel, the club's vice president of assets.
The new modules will be occupied by athletes and the coaching staff of Professional Football, while the modules opened in December 2016, and currently used by Flamengo's main team, will now be used by youth football.
"Since we completed construction on the professional football modules in December of last year, we began studying and detailing the second phase of the project in greater depth, which would initially focus on the youth teams. We studied and visited the best training centers, spoke with all the professionals involved, learned from the mistakes and successes of the first phase, and concluded that the current structure would serve the youth academy exceptionally well, unlike anything else in Brazil. We also concluded that, in the new project, striving for excellence, we could offer an even better structure for professional football, incorporating a few additional features that weren't possible in this first phase," says Alexandre Wrobel, the club's vice president of assets.
In March of this year, Wrobel, Dr. Marcio Tannure, head of Flamengo's Medical Department, and architect Alexandre Feu visited several sports facilities in Europe, including those of Manchester United, the English national team, and Chelsea, which is considered the main inspiration for the Flamengo project.
The new works at Ninho do Urubu will be made possible with resources from negotiations involving Morro da Viúva, which still needs to be validated by the club's boards.
"It's important to emphasize that this upgrade, this leap in quality, was only possible due to the values achieved in the negotiation involving Morro da Viúva, a transaction that still needs to be approved by the Club's Board of Directors, as provided for in the bylaws. In terms of youth teams, there is nothing similar to the structure that will be inherited. Ultimately, we will have the best of both worlds: youth and professional!" explains Wrobel.
The new works at Ninho do Urubu will be made possible with resources from negotiations involving Morro da Viúva, which still needs to be validated by the club's boards.
"It's important to emphasize that this upgrade, this leap in quality, was only possible due to the values achieved in the negotiation involving Morro da Viúva, a transaction that still needs to be approved by the Club's Board of Directors, as provided for in the bylaws. In terms of youth teams, there is nothing similar to the structure that will be inherited. Ultimately, we will have the best of both worlds: youth and professional!" explains Wrobel.